Suzanne Muraco decided to become a police officer when she was 16, and at Columbus
State she’s now helping train the next generation.

Muraco, a Hilliard native, found her calling when at age 16 the local police department
recruited her to the Explorers, a kind of junior police auxiliary. There were no other
peace officers in her family, and her parents initially thought it was “a phase.”
That was before she visited Columbus State’s Law Enforcement Academy program.

“When I went in and looked at it, it was right up my alley,” Muraco says. “It was
absolutely everything I needed it to be.”

Not everyone’s cut out to be a police officer, Muraco says, but a few months in Columbus
State’s hands-on program will tell if you’ve got what it takes. The Academy exposes
students to all aspects of police life, from legal issues to firearm training. And
the physical training class is notoriously hard.

Muraco stayed with it and excelled. “Every class that had to do with law enforcement,
I couldn’t get enough of.”

Students who complete the Academy not only have an associate degree, they’re also
accredited Ohio peace officers. That can give graduates a leg up when applying for
jobs. In addition to the Academy, the Law Enforcement program offers a general degree
in Law Enforcement and one in Corrections.

After graduation, she spent a year as an auxiliary officer at her hometown department,
the Hilliard Division of Police. She got hired on full-time in 1995, and now she’s
a training and community relations officer.

She credits Scott Wagner, a professor in Law Enforcement, for being a “great mentor.”
And Wagner returned the compliment by asking her to teach in the department.

Muraco is now an adjunct instructor in the department, helping teach defensive driving
and defensive tactics, and making sure the next class of cadets is ready to hit the
streets.